It is well recognized that divers, particularly divers using scuba-type equipment, should ensure the quality of the compressed air in the scuba tanks. Carbon monoxide detectors are not typically used by divers. In many cases, the circumstances in which air is compressed to fill the tanks is less than optimal. It is imperative that attention be paid to the quality of the air compressed and the inadvertant addition of carbon monoxide which can cause severe illness and/or death. It is known in the art that exposure to approximately 0.05% carbon monoxide gas over an extended period of time or 1% for a few minutes could prove fatal. It is of the upmost importance to commercial and recreational divers to prevent the opportunity for tragedy.
Thus, using carbon monoxide detecing devices to insure air quality should be an important part of a diver's equipment. Carbon monoxide detectors are now known, and often are referred to as smoke detectors or carbon monoxide sensors although similar devices respond to the presence of fumes and particurly carbon monoxide. They are arranged so that when the concentration of the fumes reaches a certain level, a signal is produced which is often translated to a visual light signal or sound signal. However, such carbon monoxide detector devices have in the past typically been limited to detecting carbon monoxide in non-pressurized systems (i.e., ambient room air pressure U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,379,026 or 5,132,231). Such carbon monoxide detector devices, however, are often not very effective in obtaining the desired result, particularly since there is no way to introduce a high pressure system (up to as much as 10,000 lb ft-2) to an open method and prevent all of the air from the system being tested to leak out. Further, the known carbon monoxide detector devices are all rather bulky and cumbersome to use, which discourages a diver from using them, and in any event will not function in a water environment so it is not useful to divers. Typically, carbon monoxide detecting devices are not and never have been designed for scuba divers prior to the present device. While general purpose devices for detecting carbon monoxide in a room as mentioned above are reasonable and convenient, such a device cannot be attached to the high/or low pressure line of sucba diving equipment but would require the diver to release all the air from the tank into the room defeating the purpose of checking the air because now the tank has to be refilled and retested. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a toxic gas detector and/or carbon monoxide detector designed for alerting divers to the presence of carbon monoxide gas which utilizes a device that is attachable to a scuba diving system. Further, there is a significant need in the art for a carbon monoxide detector device which is both convenient and practical to use, but which also is capable of detecting carbon monoxide with minimum effort by the diver or by a technician filling a dive tank.